Chaplain Craig Rennebohm

Craig’s book

Chaplain’s Blog

Residencies and public programs

The Mental Health Chaplain

The Chaplain walks a regular route through downtown Seattle, seeking out those who are most vulnerable; those whose confusion or fear makes it hard to seek or accept assistance; those whose illness makes them feel isolated, unworthy, and hopeless. The Chaplain is there for the person who is seriously disturbed and uncertain about where or how to find aid. Working tenderly, the Chaplain builds trust, helps find shelter and care, and continues to walk alongside as each person makes their way toward a new and stable life.

At the end of each day, the Chaplain visits the mental health units at Harborview Medical Center, attending to patients who face profound spiritual issues in the course of their illness. The Chaplain works with the medical teams and social work staff to lay the groundwork for a renewed and healthy faith.

Networks of Care

Many of us who have experienced mental illness turn to our congregation for crisis help and support in our journey toward health. The Chaplaincy works to link congregations together in neighborhood networks of care, and trains volunteers to serve as companions and ministry leaders in their local settings.

Wider Works

The Chaplaincy shares a vision of caring communities that have the resources necessary for those among us who face mental illness in our lives. The Chaplaincy assists with referrals, provides consultation, and gives presentations to foster understanding of mental illness and the spiritual journey.

Visit the Mental Health Chaplain’s Blog.

About Craig Rennebohm, D. Min.

Craig graduated from Carleton College in 1966 and Chicago Theological Seminary in 1970. He was ordained in the United Church of Christ and served in the parish ministry for sixteen years, eleven of them in Seattle. In 1986, Craig entered the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California, where he concentrated on pastoral care and received the Doctor of Ministry degree. He returned to Seattle in 1987 and founded the Mental Health Chaplaincy.

Under Craig's leadership, the Chaplaincy has grown to serve families, create mental health ministries in local congregations, and advocate for an effective and readily accessible community mental health system. Craig has taught and presented in a variety of local, national, and international settings, and served for ten years with an international, interfaith working group on Spirituality and Social Work active during and after hostilities in Croatia and Bosnia-Hercegovina.

He has received numerous recognitions for his Chaplaincy work, including the Tipper Gore Award of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council, a Carleton College Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award, and a Seattle Post-Intelligencer Jefferson Award.

Craig's long-awaited book, Souls in the Hands of a Tender God, written with David Paul, will be available from Beacon Press in May of 2008. The book, which tells uplifting stories of Chaplaincy experiences, will complement the Chaplaincy's mission by serving as a resource for training leaders and teachers in the companionship skills Craig has developed for his outreach activities.